A surprise bonus Nintendo Direct is coming a week early: "There will be no updates about Nintendo Switch 2 during this presentation"

A bonus Nintendo Direct is set to land this week ahead of the previously announced Nintendo Switch 2 Direct. The March 27 presentation will feature more information about upcoming games for Switch 1, and Nintendo says there will be absolutely no information about the Switch 2 here.

"Tune in on Thursday, March 27th, at 7 a.m. PT for a livestreamed Nintendo Direct," Nintendo says in its announcement, "featuring around 30 minutes of upcoming games for Nintendo Switch. There will be no updates about Nintendo Switch 2 during this presentation."

7 a.m. PT translates to 10 a.m. ET, or 2 p.m. GMT. Whichever time zone you're in, you'll be able to tune in via Nintendo's official YouTube channel.

The Switch 2 is expected to launch in 2025, but Nintendo's likely to still have a few months to fill with software before the new console is available.

Since the release of the original Switch, Nintendo has released new first-party games on a – more or less – monthly cadence, and following the release of Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition earlier this month, there are no more games with definitive dates on Nintendo's calendar.

In fact, the only first-party upcoming Switch games that have even been announced at this point are Pokemon Legends Z-A and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. While the Pokemon game got a blowout info dump very recently with a vague release window of "late 2025," we're overdue for a new look, and hopefully a more concrete release date, for the long-awaited Metroid sequel.

Some secret, last-minute first-party announcement – maybe those long-rumored Zelda remasters – aren't out of the question, either. Plus, there'll certainly be a few third-party developers eager to show off a few more Switch games before attention fully turns to the successor console.

Here's what you need to know to be ready for Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders.